Corking-machine attachment.



PATBNTED AUG. 1.3, 190'?.

A. P. BIEHLER. coRKING MACHINE ATTAGHMENT.

APPLIOATIOH FILED NOV. 24, 1906.

ma@ Z /TNESSES iwf/1% @/f y A TTORNE YS UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIoE.

AUGUST F. BIEHLER, OF HOBOKEN, NEW JERSEY. f i

CORKING-MACHIN E ATTACHME NT.

Speecation of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

Application led November 24, 1906. Serial No. 344,865.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, AUGUST F. BIEHLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hoboken, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Corking-Machine Attachment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to feeding mechanism for corking machines, and has for its object to provide means adapted to enable corks of various sizes to be moved into position under a plunger without danger of injuring the hand of the operator by a downward movement of the plunger, as sometimes happens when corks are placed by hand beneath the plunger, as is common practice.

I will describe a corking machine attachment embodying my invention, and then point out the novel features in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion ofthe corking machine with the attachment embodying my invention as applied thereto; Fig. 2 shows the attachment in plan; and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section thereof.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the standard of a corking machine having a crank 2 connected by means of a link 3 with the plunger 4 movable in a guide 5 and on which a coi-king head 6 of any desired diameter may be placed. Adjustable vertically on the front of the standard is a slide plate 7 for the corks. At its inner edge the plate 7 has an upwardly extended iiange S with which the corks are designed to engage, and as here shown, the said plate has a vertically slotted bracket through the slot of which thebolt 10 is designed to pass into engagement with the standard. By this construction it is obvious that the slide plate may be adjusted vertically with relation to the plunger. The slide plate is provided with an opening 1l through which corks are designed to pass to be forced into the neck of the bottle or other receptacle, and adjustable lengthwise of the plate and relatively to the opening 11A is a stop plate 12. At its end-adjacent to the opening 11 the stop plate is provided with an upwardly extended flange 13 and the bottom portion of the plate has a longitudinal slot 14 through which a clamping screw l5 passes, the said screw also passing through the plate 7. Adjustable transversely of the slide plate is a gage plate 16 which is held as adjusted by means of set screws 17 passing through the gage plate and through transverse slots in the slide plate.

Extending upward from the flange 8 is a substantially U-shaped wire 18 which forms one side of a hopper for a tier of corks, as indicated in Fig. 3, the other side of the hopper being formed by a substantially U-shaped wire 19 extended upward from the gage 1G. By means of such construction the hopper is provided with curved members adjustable relatively to each other, so as to hold corks of varying sizes, but inasmuch as this curved hopper extends upward from the top of the flange 8 and gage 16, the side-walls of the bottom of the hopper are formed of said flange and gage, which extending in straight lines enable a cork when dropped from the hopper onto the feed table to be moved longitudinally of the table in step-like operation, as shown in Fig. 2.

As a means for forcing corks from the hopper I employ a pusher, consisting, as here shown, of a plate 20 which is longitudinally slotted, as indicated at 21, and through this slot a screw 22 passes into the plate 7. At its outer end the push plate is provided with a finger piece 23 and the said plate is moved outward when released, by means of an expansion spring 24 which surrounds a rod 25 extended from a lug 26 on the under side of the push plate and slidable through a lug 27 on the under side of the slide plate 7. Of course, this spring engages at one end with the lug 26 and at the other end with the lug 27Y When the device is in use the gage plate 16 is adjusted on the feed plate or table 7, thereby forming a channel corresponding with the width of the corks intended to be used. The stop plate 12 is then adjusted on the table 7 so as to reduce the diameter of the opening 11 in the table when corks are used smaller in area than said opening.

The corks are placed in the hopper and when a bottle or the like is underneath the opening 11, the push plate 20 is moved forward forcing the lowermost cork from the hopper and against corks that may be forward of the same, so that one of the corks will come directly over the neck of the bottle. Then, as the plunger comes down, the cork is forced into the bottle.

The device is designed to be used in applying corks to wide mouthed bottles used for pickles, olives, and goods of similar character. Bottles of this character vary considerably in size, and it is especially desirable to provide means adapted to enable these different sized corks to be readily applied to the bottles in which they are designed to be used. Such result is accomplished by the means herein shown and described, which are simple in construction, effective in operation and durable in use.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In a corking machine, the combination with a reciprocatingr plunger', of a table having an aperture arranged in line with said plunger, a stop plate adjustable longitudinally of' said table and adapted to overlap said opening, a gage plate adjustable laterally of said table, a hopper having one member thereof attached to said table with an opposite member attached to said gage plate, and a follower movable lengthwise of said table and across said hopper.

2. In a corking machine, the combination of a reciprocating plunger, and a table having an aperture arranged in line with said plunger, a bracket by means of which the table is adjusted vertically relatively to said plunger, a gage plate adjustable transversely of said table, a stop plate adjustable longitudinally of said table, and adapted to overlap the aperture thereof, a hopper mounted on said table and adjustable in width, and a follower movable longitudinally of said table and transversely of said hopper.

:3. In a corking machine, the combination with a reciprocating plunger, of a table provided with an aperture arranged in line with said plunger, and a bracket by means of which the table is adjusted bodily in a vertical line, a longitudinal channed formed on said table by means of a laterally adjustable gage plate, means adapted to vary the area of the opening in said plate, consisting of an adjustable gage plate adapted to overlap said opening, a hopper comprising 4opposite side portions adjustable relatively to each other, and a follower mounted to slide longitudinally of said table and transversely of said hopper.

4. In a coi-king machine, the combination of a reciprocating plunger, a table having au aperture arranged in line with said plunger, means for moving said table vertically, a longitudinal channel variable in width formed on said center table, a hopper extending upward from said channel having oppositely disposed sections adjustable relatively to each other, a spring-actuated follower mounted to reciprocate on said table and traverse the path of said hopper, and a stop plate arranged at the side of the opening of said plate.

5. In a corliing machine, the combination with a reciprocating plunger, of a 'feed table provided with an opening arranged inYline with said plunger, a channel having continuous side walls adjustable in width relatively to each other, a hopper having oppositely disposed curved walls mounted on the side walls et' said channel, a spring actuated follower movable longitudinally of said feed table and transversely of the line of said hopper, and a stop arranged adjacent to the side of said opening.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribingI witnesses.

AUGUST F. BIEHLER.

Witnesses JNO. M. Rrr'rnn, C. R. FERGUSON. 

